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FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — A condemned Arizona inmate gasped and snorted for more than an hour and a half during his execution before he died.
The episode is likely to add to the scrutiny surrounding the death penalty in the U.S.
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne's office said Joseph Wood was pronounced dead at 3:49 p.m. Wednesday, one hour and 57 minutes after the execution started.
Wood's lawyers had filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court while the execution was underway, demanding that it be stopped. Defense lawyer Dale Baich said the execution should have taken 10 minutes.
Family members of the victims said they had no problems with the way the execution was carried out.
Wood was convicted in the 1989 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Debbie Dietz and her father Gene Dietz at an auto repair shop in Tucson.
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